Eventually everyone was satisfied, the safety checks had been made and the team started their descent, picking their way over boulders made treacherous by ice and snow. Whenever possible, they sledged the stretcher down the mountain and finally the mist and snow cleared and the road came into sight.
As Christy slithered and slipped, she noticed Alessandro constantly glancing in her direction.
Checking up on her?
The MRT vehicle that doubled as an ambulance was waiting.
‘You’re only a ten-minute drive from the hospital,’ Christy told Simon as they carried him the final few metres. ‘They’ll soon have you comfortable.’
He shook his head. ‘My wife is going to kill me. She’s always telling me I’m too old to be walking in the hills.’
‘Ignore her,’ Jake advised cheerfully as he yanked open the back of the vehicle and prepared to lift the stretcher inside. ‘What do women know about anything?’ He winked at Christy and she gave a wan smile.
Thanks to Alessandro, she was starting to feel as though she knew nothing.
Leaving the rest of the work to their colleagues, Jake pulled her gently to one side and gave her a searching look. ‘You all right, babe?’
‘Of course.’ Behind her, they were loading the injured man into the ambulance. ‘Why woul
dn’t I be?’
‘Hey.’ Jake frowned. ‘This is me you’re talking to. Not some stranger. I can tell you’re not all right. I don’t suppose the look on your face has anything to do with the broken bed and the ruined sofa?’
Her eyes widened. ‘You know about that?’
‘I talk to my goddaughter.’ For once, Jake’s expression was serious. ‘Obviously things aren’t going that well between the two of you. I assumed that once you were under the same roof, you’d be able to sort your problems out.’
‘I thought so, too.’ Her voice was husky and suddenly she had a wild impulse to throw herself against Jake’s broad shoulders and cry her eyes out. She badly needed a hug. ‘But I was wrong.’ She glanced across to where Alessandro was standing, his glossy dark hair touched by the snow, his manner autocratic and confident as he talked to one of his fellow team members. ‘He doesn’t want me any more, Jake. He doesn’t love me.’
Her voice broke on the words and Jake swore under his breath and pulled her into his arms. ‘Don’t cry,’ he said softly, his hands gently smoothing her back. ‘You’re wrong, Christy. He does love you.’
She pulled away from him, embarrassed at her sudden loss of control. Ashamed to have revealed something so private, even to their oldest and dearest friend. ‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘I hoped he did, but I was just deluding myself.’
‘What makes you say that?’
‘When I went down to London, he didn’t come after me.’
‘You wanted him to?’
‘Of course I did, you stupid oaf! What sort of a question is that?’ She gave him a watery smile. ‘I thought you were supposed to understand women?’
‘Me?’ Jake pretended to look baffled. ‘Oh, that’s just an act I put on to help me pull. It never fails. What else makes you think he doesn’t love you?’
She bit her lip. ‘We haven’t… been close since I came home and that’s not like him. Normally he’s very…’ She blushed slightly, embarrassed that she was revealing so much. ‘Very physical.’
Jake’s gaze was steady on her face. ‘Perhaps he’s giving you space.’
She shook her head. ‘Alessandro is much too selfish for that,’ she muttered. ‘If he wants something, he goes after it and he gets it. You know what he’s like.’
‘I think he’s just taken his eye off the ball.’ Jake stretched out a hand to remove some snow from her hair. ‘It’s good to have you back on the team.’
‘Alessandro doesn’t think so,’ she said, unable to keep the hurt out of her voice. ‘He thinks that all I’m capable of is picking up after the children. He doesn’t see me as a woman any more.’
‘Doesn’t he?’ For a moment, Jake’s expression was thoughtful. Then he smiled. ‘Hang in there, babe. Everything is going to be fine.’
She rolled her eyes, touched by his comment but lacking his optimism. ‘It’s sweet of you to say so, but how can everything possibly be fine, you great dope?’
He treated her to the smile that had women lusting after him in droves. ‘Because this is Christmas, my angel. Peace on earth and goodwill to all men. The time for miracles and forgiveness. Why don’t you just be patient and see what special gift Santa brings you this year?’